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Live Election Updates: Trump ‘Safe’ After Shooting at Rally; Suspect Killed [1]

['Simon J. Levien']

Date: 2024-07-13

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Updated July 13, 2024, 8:04 p.m. ET July 13, 2024, 8:04 p.m. ET Julian E. Barnes, Michael Gold and

An armed person fired a weapon at former President Donald J. Trump at his rally in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, according to a U.S. official and two people briefed on the matter.

One rally attendee was killed, the two people briefed on the matter said, and the suspected shooter was killed by the Secret Service, according to the U.S. official and two others briefed on the matter.

Mr. Trump was “fine,” according to a spokesman for his campaign. He was escorted off the stage by Secret Service agents and into his motorcade, with his face and ear were bloodied as he was rushed off the stage. As he was escorted to his motorcade, he pumped his fist in a defiant gesture to the crowd. A Secret Service spokesman said Mr. Trump was “safe.” A spokesman for the Trump campaign, Steven Cheung, said in a statement that the former president was “fine and is being checked out at a local medical facility.” He did not provide further information on whether or how Mr. Trump had been injured, and officials would not provide more information on whether any rally attendees were injured. Here’s what else to know: President Biden said in a statement that he had been briefed on the shooting and condemned it. “I’m grateful to hear that he’s safe and doing well,” he said, adding that “there’s no place for this kind of violence in America.”

Mr. Trump had been showing supporters a chart of numbers about border crossings when shots rang out. He ducked quickly after the noises began, with the sound coming from the bleachers left of where he was standing at a lectern. The noises came in two groups, and smoke appeared in that section of the bleachers.

Gov. Josh Shapiro, Democrat of Pennsylvania, said in a statement that he had been briefed and that the state police were on the scene working with federal partners. The Secret Service is leading the investigation, but the Justice Department, the F.B.I. and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will assist, according to federal officials.

Republicans and Democrats alike were quick to condemn what they viewed as an apparent act of political violence. “I am horrified by what happened at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania and relieved that former President Trump is safe,” Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, said in a statement. Representative Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican, who was shot in 2017, said that “there is never any place for political violence.”

After what sounded like gun shots rang out minutes into the campaign event, members of the crowd began screaming, and Mr. Trump was tackled by Secret Service agents. After he departed, a group of officials wearing camouflage escorted someone off a set of bleachers to the left of the podium where Mr. Trump was speaking.

Those who attend Mr. Trump’s campaign rallies are subject to security screenings. They are required to enter through metal detectors, and their bags and possessions are searched for weapons and a large number of banned items. Nicholas Nehamas , Campbell Robertson , Peter Baker and Katie Rogers contributed reporting.

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[1] Url: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/07/13/us/biden-trump-election/6e339dcc-51ee-5a58-bfdc-98d0db1303c8?smid=url-share

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